Mother's grief as son, 20, dies of asbestos cancer

A mother who lost her son to an asbestos-related cancer aged just 20 says years of misdiagnosis meant it was found too late.

Liam Exley was 'as fit as anything' until he started developing 'gunky' fluid on his lungs at age 17 in 2021. He had various procedures to drain it and doctors at Lynn's Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), in Norfolk, diagnosed him with pericarditis, the swelling of the tissue around his heart.

They prescribed an anti-inflammatory and Liam continued to be in and out of hospital having fluid drained, including an eight-day stay in October 2023.

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Diagnosis came too late

A few months later a lymph node on the side of his neck had swollen 'like a golf ball' and a biopsy confirmed he had stage four mesothelioma – a rare and aggressive type of cancer caused by asbestos fibres.

'When they turned around and told all of us that he had terminal cancer, I rushed out and was sick,' his mother Nicola Anderson said. 'I just couldn't believe it.'

Liam died at home six months later. He was just 20.

'He got up, and I said, “What are you doing?” He said he wanted to go to the toilet, and as he sat down his eyes were going,' Nicola said. 'I just picked him up – it was mother's instinct. I thought it was his oxygen lead trapped – but his eyes were flickering, and I said “I've got you sweetheart” and he just closed his eyes in my arms.'

Symptoms ignored for years

Mesothelioma symptoms include the accumulation of a sticky recurring fluid in the lungs called pleural effusion. Nicola, from Swaffham, in Norfolk, believes that this is what Liam had been experiencing for years – and had doctors realised it sooner, it may not have got to stage four so quickly.

The QEH has said it does not comment on individual cases.

Mesothelioma cannot be cured but can be managed to help patients live longer. Most patients who develop the cancer are over 65 and have worked in high-risk trades when there was less protection from asbestos exposure. It is extremely rare in young people, which Nicola believes may have contributed to Liam's late diagnosis.

Raising awareness

He was the second youngest person in the UK to have died from the cancer – and how he developed it is unknown. His mum is now raising funds and awareness of mesothelioma to help people recognise the symptoms and to support treatments for others.

'Liam was the light in the life of everyone lucky enough to know him – happy, kind, loving, intelligent and funny,' she said. 'Having finished his schooling, he was completing his carpentry apprenticeship with Flagship Housing – well on his way to qualifying as a kitchen fitter.

'He was an incredibly talented sportsman, football and cricket being two of his main passions.

'He was still playing cricket the summer before he passed away, scoring 87 runs not out in his last match.

'Constantly looking forward, he was planning his future with friends and family, places he was going to go, and things he was going to do.

'Full of boundless love and energy, there was never a dull moment when Liam was around.'

Nicola recently climbed Snowdon, the highest mountain in England and Wales, in memory of her son.

'It took me under four hours. It was quite hard at the end – but I got through it,' she said. 'It was hard work, and it was freezing cold; I couldn't even feel my fingers – but you just go with your heart anyway. I just had to do it.'

You can help Nicola and her family raise money for Mesothelioma UK here.

What is mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is a rare type of cancer that affects the lining of organs. It most commonly affects the lungs and is caused by being in close contact with, or breathing, in asbestos fibres over a long period of time. It usually takes 15 to 60 years for symptoms to develop after exposure.

Symptoms include: